Two of a Kind
by invader-diem
Summary: Alex Russo and Nate Gray were the best of friends, but that soon changed because of reasons unknown to Alex. Now they're graduating and everything comes out of the dark. one shot. Nalex/Nelena


**I know I haven't written anything in a long time, and I apologize. It's kind of hard to think of another story when school is my biggest priority. Im so glad that it'll be summer here in less then two months! Who else is excited?! (:  
**

**Anyways, I came up with this one-shot. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Alex Russo woke up to the sound of her alarm clock buzzing on her bedside table. Turning onto her side, she hit the snooze button and saw that it was 7:50 a.m. She rolled back onto her back and began waking up.

She heard a knock on the door. A few seconds later her mother's head popped in, "Are you up honey? Big day today!" She said excitingly.

Alex sat up and smiled, "Yes mom."

Theresa leaned on her door way, her arms crossing over her shoulder. "I can't believe your graduating today." She said, her voice soft.

Alex looked at her mom, "Me neither."

Theresa nodded, "Well get ready! I'm gonna leave before I start crying."

After Theresa left, Alex pulled her blanket off. She stood up and let out a yawn while wiping the eye booger from her eyes. She walked into her bathroom and got ready for the day, brushing her teeth and hair, and putting on a little smudge of make-up. She wasn't the kind of girl that covered her face with loads of products. As she was applying her lip-gloss, she heard loud music erupt from the side of her house. She rolled her eyes and after taking a deep breath, she walked back into her room, approaching her window. Pulling it up angrily she saw her neighbor and the person she disliked the most dancing around in their boxer and a wife beater. Alex waved her hand trying to grab their attention, but it didn't seem to work. Turning around, she saw lipstick that she didn't really like sitting on her desk. Carefully she aimed at the window and through it.

He turned around to the sound of something hitting his window. Then he saw Alex looking like she was about to explode. He walked towards his window and opened it. He gave her a cheeky grin, "Yes?"

"Can you please turn down your music?" She tried to be as nice as possible.

He put on a thinking face, "Nah, I like it loud." He smirked and closed his window. After giving her a wave, he pulled his blinds down.

Alex became furious, "NATE!" She screamed so loud, her parents could hear her from down stairs.

Alex walked down the stairs and into the kitchen greeting her parents.

"So what did Nate do this time?" Her father, Jerry, asked.

Alex couldn't help but roll her eyes at the sound of his name, "Being his typical, rude self."

Theresa sighed, "What happened to you two? You guys use to be so close."

Alex shrugged, "I don't even know."

"So are you excited? It's Graduation day." Mrs. Russo said, her eyes beginning to glaze.

"Oh, mom. Please don't start!" She begged, not wanting to see her mother cry.

"I can't help it! You're graduating today, and you're actually leaving us next week."

"But I'll be back before the summer ends. I'm only going there to look at apartments." She walked up to her mom and gave her a hug.

Theresa hugged her back, giving her a kiss on her forehead.

She pulled away and checked her watch, "Okay well I gonna go to Mitchie's house and hang with her for a little. See you guys later." She grabbed her bag and began heading for the door.

"Wait, Alex!" She turned around when she heard her mom, "Remember after your graduation we're having dinner at the Gray's house."

Alex's face fell, "What?! Why?" She whined. "When did you tell me this?!"  
"I told you last week. I said 'We're having a celebration dinner for you and Mitchie next week.'"

"But you never said it was going to be at Nate's house!"

"Well your father and I talked to The Gray's and Mr. and Mrs. Torres and thought it would be a great idea to have a party for you, Mitchie, AND Nate."

Alex huffed and pouted, "But..but.." She didn't know what to say.

"Jason and Shane are coming back into town later. They'll be there."

Alex's eyes immediately lit up, "Really?" She hadn't seen Jason nor Shane since they moved to New York to attend college. She loved them to death; they were like her big brothers. Her smile quickly faded when she remembered Nate would be at the dinner too. "Fine, but only because I get to see Shane and Jason." She walked out of the house and began walking to Mitchie's house, which was just across the street.

She stopped at the end of her driveway and reached into her bag to grab her wallet to see if she had enough money to treat Mitchie to a nice breakfast. She opened it and pulled out her cash. She began counting, until something dropped out of the pile. She looked down and saw what looked like a folded up piece of paper. She reached down and grabbed it. She then realized that it wasn't a piece of paper, but was an old picture from years ago taken in a photo booth.

A small gasp left her mouth when she saw it was her and Nate.

She looked at all four snap shots. First one smiling, second one funny face, third one was on them laughing, and the last one Alex had her arms around Nate's neck tightly and they were both smiling brilliant smiles.

She stared at it, a smile swept over her face. She remembered that day. Her and Nate had watched a movie and were waiting for their rides to come get them. Alex had to drag Nate into the booth to take a picture with him.

She snapped back into reality when she heard someone calling for her.

"Yo Russo!" Nate called out.

Alex rolled her eyes and continued walking to Mitchie's.  
She heard footsteps come closer and closer and soon enough, he was walking right beside her.

She stopped and turned to him, "What do you want Nate?" She asked annoyed.

He smirked, "Nothing, just heard that you were coming over for dinner tonight."

"Only because our parents are throwing us a graduation party and I get to see your brothers."

"Oh you know you want to see me too, you don't have to lie. We're gonna have fun tonight." He looked at her and saw she had something in her hands. "What's that?" he asked trying to reach for it.

She quickly tried sliding it into her back pocket, "None of your business." She said firmly.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"Why do you have to be such a pig?" She shot back.

Nate just shrugged; "It's fun to mess with you." he smiled.

She looked at him disgusted. "When did you become such a jerk?"

He leaned in closer to her. "The same time you started your period." he whispered to her.

Alex's mouth dropped, thankfully she saw Mitchie coming out of her house. She glared at Nate one last time as she walked passed him.

Mitchie smiled and waved at her, but it turned into a frown when she saw her expression. They linked arms and walked into the house together.

Nate watched as the two girls walked inside, the door closing behind them. He shoved his hands into his pocket and began walking back home. He heard something crumple under his shoe. He looked down and saw a picture. He instantly recognized it. He reached down and grabbed it, "She kept it?" he asked himself. He looked in the direction he last saw her before shoving the picture into his pocket and walking home.

Inside Mitchie's room Alex let out a frustrated scream.  
"Nate?" Mitchie asked.

"Of course Nate! Who else could make my blood boil?!" She sat down on her bed and sighed, "What happened to him? Who is this guy? I miss the old Nate, the one that was my best friend."

"Alex, you guys were like 14."

She rolled her eyes, "Not the point Mitch. The point is he changed. He changed into a-a-a jackass!" Alex covered her mouth, shocked at what just slipped out of her mouth.

Mitchie was surprised too. Alex was never known to have a dirty mouth. "Woah, he must really get under your skin."

Alex let out a deep breath, running her hand through her hair. "I guess. It's just weird to see him like that. I know that whoever that is, that's not the real Nate."

"Maybe..." Mitchie paused, thinking about what she was going to say, "Maybe he's likes you." She closed her eyes tightly, waiting to hear Alex scream. Instead she heard laughter fill the room. She opened her eyes and looked at Alex confused.

"Yeah right Mitch. Nate likes me. You're crazy."

Mitchie rolled her eyes, "And you're blind!" Alex looked at her surprised. "Everyone knows that Nate likes you, except you. Why do you think he messes with you so much? Think about it Lexie, you guys stopped being friends after you got your first boyfriend! Remember? You guys got into a huge argument because Nate said 'you weren't a true friend if you couldn't see how he felt.'" She quoted.

Alex looked down and thought about it, "That's not true." She whispered, not wanting to believe it.

Mitchie became frustrated, "Gosh Alex, why are you so stubborn?"

Alex instantly heard Nate saying the same thing in her mind. She looked up at Mitchie, about to reply, but she couldn't think of anything else to say. "Can we change the subject?" She asked.

Mitchie nodded, "I'm sorry." She apologized.  
Alex shook her head. "It's okay. Let's go out to eat, my treat." She offered.

Mitchie shook her head, "No Alex! I'll pay!" She argued.

Alex rolled her eyes and let out a laugh, "Mitchie, I'm gonna pay for you. Now let's go!" She said, pulling her best friend off the bed and dragging her down the stairs.

Alex waited for Mitchie to lock her front door before walking back to her house to retrieve her car. She looked over across the street to see the Gray's front door open. She then saw Nate and his parents coming out. Nate saw her and they instantly locked eyes. Alex felt something in the pit of her stomach, but it wasn't a bad thing… It felt like… butterflies. Nate locked down and walked to his parent's car. He gave her one last glance before getting inside.

Alex suddenly felt… sad. He would usually say something rude to her, but not this time. She actually wanted him to say something to her, even if it was mean. For some reason she wanted to hear his voice.

"Let's go!" Mitchie said, stepping next to her.

Alex watched the Gray's car drive off before turning to Mitchie.

They walked to The Russo's garage. Both got into Alex's car before speeding off to their favorite diner.

They found their usual booth empty and sat down.

The waitress, already knowing what the duo wanted came out with two iced teas and wrote down their order. "You're orders will be out in a little ladies." She told them.

They smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

After the waitress left, the two girls were left sitting there, staring at each other.

Mitchie let out a loud sigh and leaned her elbows on the table. "Can you believe it Lex? We're actually graduating in a couple of hours!" She said, stirring sugar into her tea.

Alex blew the few strands of hair out of her face, "I know. We're not going to be high schoolers anymore."

They sat in silence, both soaking up everything. These were their last moments as teenaged high school girls. It was surreal to the both of them.

Alex parked her car in the drive way.

"Thanks for breakfast Lex." Mitchie said, unbuckling her seat belt.

They both got out of the car, "No problem." She walked to the passenger's side and gave her a hug.

"I'll see you in a few. I got to get home and get ready." Mitchie told her.

Alex nodded. She watched as Mitchie walked across the street and entered her house.

She turned around and walked up the stairs to her front door. She saw a note hanging on it.

_Your father and I are at the Gray's. Please join us when you get home._

_-Mom_

She sighed and walked across the yard to the house she hadn't been inside in years.

She knocked and waited for an answer. After a couple of seconds the door opened to reveal Jason.

Alex's eyes lit up a like a full moon at night. "Jason!" She said before running into his arms.

Jason laughed and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey kiddo. I've missed you! Look how much you've grown."

Alex hugged him tightly, "I've missed you too!" She said. When they pulled apart she looked around, "Where's Shane?"

"Sleeping, of course." They both rolled their eyes.

"Same old Shane." She smiled.

Jason shook his head in the direction of Shane's room, "Why don't you go wake him. I know he'll be happy to see you."

She nodded and began walking upstairs, but turned around and gave Jason another hug. He smiled at her and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

Alex quietly opened the door to Shane's room and instantly saw him lying in his bed, his hair everywhere, and he was snoring.

She couldn't help but grin. Tip toeing to his bed, she sat down next to him. "Shane?" She shook him.

He groaned and rolled onto his other side. Alex shook him again, "Shane!" She yelled.

He got up and turned around. His eyes widened when he saw who was waking him. He smiled and pulled her into a tight hug. "Wow Lexie, look at you!"

"Look at me?! Look at you!" She ruffled his bed head. "How's college?" She asked him.

He shrugged, "Its good. I miss it here though, I especially missed you." He grabbed her again.

She buried her face into his shoulder, "Same here." She whispered.

"So how are you? You're so grown now! I can't believe you and Nate are graduating today!" he said.

She laughed, "I'm good… Kind of happy and kind of sad about high school ending…I uh, got accepted to Columbia."

His eyes lit up and a smile etched onto his face, "Lexie, that's great! I'm so proud of you. I know you always wanted to go there."

She smiled, "Thanks. That means I might get to see you and Jason more often since you're both at NYU."

"And Nate." He added.

Alex frowned, "What? I heard him say he was going to stay here and go to a community college for two year." She recalled when they were in class and the teacher asked them about their future plans after high school.

Shane shook his head. "Nope, he got accepted to Juilliard."

Alex's eyes widened, she was in shock. As it sunk in, she couldn't help but smile and be proud. She remembered him telling her when they were younger that he was going to go to Juilliard and she was going to go to Columbia and they were still going to be the best of friends. This was before all the drama.

"That's great." She said softly, "I'm happy for him."

Shane smiled softly, "Are you two still not on good terms?" He asked.

Alex sighed and shrugged, "I guess not. I want to be... I really miss him." She admitted.

Shane scratched the back of his neck, "He's going to kill me for saying this…" He whispered. Alex knitted her eye brows together, confused. "Nate likes you… I think he might even love you."

"Not you too!" Alex stood up and threw her arms in the air before folding them in front of her chest. "Mitchie thinks the same thing. Why do you guys think he likes me?" She questioned.

Shane stood up and stretched, "he told me." He said bluntly.

Alex snapped her head at him, "W-what? When?" She stuttered, hundreds of thoughts running through her head. She sat back down on his bed. Shane followed her lead and sat next to her.

"You're freshman year, when you started dating what's-his-face and you and Nate got into that fight. After you went home, he was devastated. He told me how he really felt about you… that he really liked you and was stupid for not asking you out in the first place." He explained.

Alex sat there, staring blankly at the floor. "I liked him too." She whispered to herself.

_Wow, Nate liked me? If I would have known I would have never gone out with Dean. I didn't even like him! I just went out with him because I didn't want to be mean… Freshman year… I had the biggest crush on Nate, but I didn't think I had a chance, every girl drooled over him and I was his best friend who didn't want to ruin anything, too late for that! What am I gonna do now? Well it's not like I can do anything now anyways…it's too late._ Alex got lost in her own little world.

Shane watched as she looked to be in deep thought. "Alex?" He finally asked.

She snapped back into reality and looked at Shane. "Oh, sorry… But that was three years ago. A lot of things change in 1095 days."

Shane rolled his eyes, "No need to show off your intelligence Lexie. And I know for a fact that he still does."

"How?" She questioned.

"I just know." He said confidently.

There was a silence. "Well…thanks for telling me I guess."

He nodded. "Just don't tell him I told you!"

Alex let out a laugh, "Promise." She leaned her head on his shoulder.

Alex walked down to the living room with Shane where she saw Jason and Nate sitting and her parents having a conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Gray. "Hello." She greeted.

"Hello Alex." Mrs. Gray said back, "Please have a seat!" She said, pointing to the empty couch.

Alex listened to her and sat down. "So I heard you got accepted to Columbia, Alex. Congratulations." Mr. Gray said.

Alex smiled politely. "Thank you." She looked at Nate sitting across from her, "I heard you got into Julliard Nate. Congratulations are in order for you too." She smiled.

He looked at her confused, like how did she know? Nonetheless he thanked her.

"That means all of you are going to be living in New York." Jerry said.

They all nodded.

"Nate, could you go to the kitchen and grab some water?" Mrs. Gray asked him.

He stood up and headed towards the kitchen.

"I'll help him." Alex said, getting up and following him.

She reached the kitchen and saw him grabbing some water from the refrigerator.

She didn't mean to look at his butt, it just happened. She then noticed something familiar sticking out of his back pocket.

"Where did you get that?" She asked.

He turned around, startled at her presence, "Get what?"

"That picture in your pocket!" She pointed. She then reached into her pocket and noticed it wasn't there. Her eyes closed as she let out a deep sigh.

He pulled it out and handed it back to her. "You dropped it earlier."

She gently took it from his hands, "Can we just start over? Please?" She pleaded.

"Start what over?" He asked, confused.

"Us" She whispered.

Nate looked at her, his eyes revealing nothing.

"I miss you Nate." She continued. "You were the bestest friend I ever had. Not having you as that for three years, it makes me sad. What would high school be like if we were still the same as we were?"

Her eyes began to glaze with tears.

Nate suddenly pulled her into a hug. "I miss you too." He whispered in her ear.

She was surprised, but she hugged him back, tightly. She cried into his shoulder, but they weren't tears of sadness, they were tears of joy. She finally had her best friend back.

Mitchie, Alex, and Nate stood, posing together in front of the Russo's house in their caps and gowns. Each had a bright smile on their faces. Both the Russo's and the Gray's were happy to see Nate and Alex friends, together again.

"Okay, get in the car before we're late!" Jerry said.

At the school, Alex was holding both Mitchie and Nate's hand tightly. She was nervous, the ceremony was about to start. The music started playing and students were starting to walk out to the field.

Alex began jumping with excitement.

Mitchie and Nate laughed. She pulled them both into a hug. "I love you both." She told them.

Alex and Mitchie sat next to each other. Nate was a couple of rows ahead.

They all listened to the speeches and soon enough, they began calling names up to receive their diplomas.

"_Nathanial Gray"_

Alex watched Nate walk up the stage, shake hands with the principal and move his tassel from one side, to the other. She couldn't help but let a few tears slip.

A couple of names were called until she finally heard hers.

"_Alexandra Russo"_

She hugged Mitchie before walking up the stage. After receiving her diploma she looked out to see her parents and gave them a wave.

She sat back down and waited for them to call out Mitchie.

"_Michelle Torres"_

Alex finally lost it when she saw Mitchie on stage. Tears of happiness flowed down her cheeks. Mitchie ran off the stage and collided in a hug with Alex. They were both crying and laughing at the same time. "We're graduates!" Mitchie cheered.

"I know."

After a nice dinner at the Gray's, Alex was left wondering were Nate had gone.

He disappeared after everyone was finished eating. "Hey Mitchie, where's Nate?" She asked her.

"I think he went outside." She pointed to the back door.

She walked to the back yard of the Gray's house. It was dark outside, but just enough light to see.

Alex squinted her eyes to see a figure sitting on the dock. She quietly began walking towards it.

Once she was close enough, she stopped. "Hey" she said softly.

He swiftly turned around and stared at her. He was surprised to find her there, "Hi." He replied.

She walked the extra steps closer to him and sat down. "What are you doing out here?"

He took a deep breath. "Thinking"

Alex nodded. It was quiet; all you could here were the small waves of the lake.

She looked over at him, he was staring at the lakes horizon. "What are you thinking about?" She asked softly.

He turned to her, he looked sad. Alex stared at him confused. "I can't be your friend anymore." He said.

She felt something shatter inside. "Why?" Her voice cracked.

"I can't go back to being your best friend because…" He stopped. She stared at him, waiting for him to finish. "I'm in love with you." He finally said it.

Alex sat there, shocked at just what came out of his mouth. Actually hearing him say it instead of Mitchie and Shane, she was paralyzed; it felt as though she couldn't move.

Nate regretted saying it. He saw her expression and felt a punch in the gut. "I'm sorry." He said before using his hand to lift himself up and walking away.

Alex quickly got up and grabbed his arm. "Wait!" she said.

He looked back at her.

A smile finally appeared across her face, "I'm in love with you too." She said, biting her lip.

His eyes lit up, he had been waiting for so long to hear her say that. "Really?"

Alex laughed and nodded, "Really."

Nate instantly pulled her into a tight hug, squeezing her tightly, but gently at the same time.

She nuzzled her head into his chest. She felt perfect in his arms.

Both finally pulled away from each other and locked eyes.

Nate's hands found their way to Alex's face. He cupped her cheeks and stared deeply into her dark chocolate eyes. He slowly began leaning down. Alex could feel his hot breath on her lips. She got on her tip toes and closed the gap between them. Their lips finally crashed together in a sweet and tender kiss.

* * *

**And that is the end. I know, crappy. :P**

**Sorry if I wasted your time.**

**....it would make me uber happy if you left me a review though. I don't care if its a bad review either. anything would be nice. :)  
**

**Oh yeah, I'm thinking about going over 'why not me' and editing it. Not changing anything, just fixing some errors. i reread it and my grammar and spelling is horrible. So whenever I'm not feeling lazy, I might just do that.  
**


End file.
